Maggots score for 38lb mirror

WARREN Broadhurst caught his first carp over the 30lb barrier and broke his personal best in the process with this 38lb mirror from The Monument in Shropshire.

Faced with a strong northerly wind and plummeting temperatures the 37-year-old from Telford hadn’t seen any fish showing so cast his rigs towards the centre of the water where he thought the carp might be holding up.

Maggots have accounted for a number of big fish from the venue in recent weeks, but to give his baits an extra kicked he coated them in a dusting of Retro Baits garlic powder the night before his session.

“On the first morning my mate had a 31lb mirror on a pop-up boilie but I decided to stick with the maggots,” Warren told Angling Times. “I kept putting a couple of Spombs of bait out every two hours and the next day I started getting a few liners which eventually turned into a screaming take.”

Warren’s winning presentation consisted of a couple of real maggots popped-up with a piece of red foam on a Gardner Talon Tip hook and a Korda IQ Super Soft fluorocarbon hooklink. This was cast out in conjunction with a PVA bag of maggots.

“This was the first time I had fished The Monument and I couldn’t have asked for a better start – a new personal best and my first ever UK thirty. The fish looked stunning in its winter colours and hopefully I’ll manage a few more from the lake over the next few months.”